Hey everyone!! I’m sliding in here a bit late with this blog post. With vacation and getting my son ready to go to Belgium for two weeks, I completely lost track of time. Hope your July is going well.
Let’s jump right into my interview with our July Designer – Cathy from CathyK Designs.
How long have you been designing?
I opened my first digi shop in 2008, so about 11 years.
What made you decide to design?
I started making some freebies just for fun, then got hooked!
What do you use to create your designs (program, additional tools, etc.)?
I use Photoshop CS4 and Inkscape, though I am considering moving to Creative Cloud once I update my computer hardware.
Describe your design workplace.
I have a computer desk with a desktop computer and large display in our family room. My work area tends to be pretty cluttered, plus I always have my paper planner and paper notebook open on the desk to scribble down ideas.
What motivates and inspires you as a designer?
I like seeing an idea come to fruition and then seeing how people use that kit to scrap their precious memories. I get inspiration and ideas from color, everyday life, my sons’ activities and interests, magazines, Pinterest, textures, a song, a good quote. Really, anything can be the inspiration for a product!
What is your favorite kit currently in your GS store and why?
It’s so hard to answer that! I guess my current favorite is my Country Roads collection. At first, that palette didn’t appeal much to me and I struggled to find a direction. I actually started the collection with a completely different theme in mind, then our camping trips reminded me of simpler times, which made me think of country life (since I grew up in a smaller town in the south), so I completely switched directions and absolutely love how the collection turned out! Of course, the title is from the John Denver song that was stuck in my head the ENTIRE time I was working on it! “Country Roads, take me home to the place I belong…”
https://store.gingerscraps.net/Country-Roads-Kit-by-CathyK-Designs.html
.What was your first job?
In high school, I was a draftsperson for my father’s HVAC engineering company. This was back in the dark ages before CAD programs when everything was done by hand!
What is your favorite quote?
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” I included this one in this month’s Daily Download kit, Chart Your Own Course, because I liked the message.
What is something you want to do in the next year that you’ve never done before?
I’d love to take a longer trip to the mountains in our new RV. We’ve only taken short weekend trips so far.
If you had to delete all but 3 apps from your smartphone, which ones would you keep?
Texting app, since that’s the best way to communicate with my young adult sons, Chrome web browser, since you can access pretty much everything you need just using that, and Google Maps.
If you could have someone follow you around all the time, like a personal assistant, what would you have them do?
Um, all the boring things I hate to do, like paying bills, organizing paperwork, cleaning, marketing!
Would you rather travel back in time to meet your ancestors or to the future to meet your descendants?
Definitely back in time to meet my ancestors. Life would be pretty dull if you knew ahead of time how everything was gonna turn out!
What commercial jingle gets stuck in your head all the time.
“Bum-da-dump-bum-bum-bum-bum” from some insurance company.
If you could turn the ocean into a liquid other than water, which one would you pick?
Wine!
Thanks Cathy!! Make sure to check out her GingerScraps Store and Facebook Fan Page.
Have you been grabbing the Daily Download? If you’ve missed any pieces, it will be available as a full kit in her GingerScraps store beginning in August.
Thanks for hanging out with me today!!
